I Promise I Can Save You
by LolaLaural
Summary: Annabelle Lawrence joined Star Fleet to avoid her ex-Husband. A dangerous, abusive man who would love nothing more than to put a bullet in her brain, she knows she's destined to die at his hands and wants to see Space before she does. What she doesn't know is destiny has another path for her, can McCoy save the woman he loves from impending death?
1. Chapter 1

_I know I could lie_

 _But I'm telling the truth_

 _Wherever I go there's a shadow of you._

 _I know I could try_

 _Looking for something new._

 _But wherever I go, I'll be looking for you._

* * *

Joining Starfleet was not my idea. I didn't join because I loved to travel, even though I did, I joined to get away from him. So he couldn't find me. It'd worked out well for the past two years, I'd been on the USS Enterprise when he'd walked into my old workplace and shot two people. I hadn't told anyone about it. None of my friends on the Enterprise or in Starfleet. No one knew. If no one knew, no one could tie me to that maniac of an ex-husband. I was a Science Officer primarily but I had been shadowing Dr McCoy in the MedBay as well. We'd become close in the four months I'd been shadowing him, having been friends since Jim introduced us on our first day at Star Fleet academy, it was easy to get closer without realising. Soon we had started with silly inside jokes that drove Jim crazy, we got worse around Jim because we knew it annoyed him and that was hilarious to us. "WILL YOU STOP IT!" Jim yelled for the eighth time since we sat down to lunch.

"Alright, it's not funny when you start yelling like that." I remarked, taking a bite of my sandwich.

"You know, I thought it would be a good thing you two getting a little bit closer, but all this flirting is driving me crazy." Jim muttered.

I sucked in a breath then, forgetting about the bite in my mouth. This meant I inhaled bread crumbs and began choking. McCoy slapped my back. "Flirting?" I questioned when I could breathe again.

"Please, you two are so obvious it's painful. You could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife. Can you sleep together already? I'd like my friends back." He was sulking now.

"Okay, first of all Jim Kirk, we are not flirting. Secondly, there's no sexual tension and Thirdly, just because you have no qualms about being a giant slut doesn't mean I'm going to partake in the practise as well." I scolded him.

"You know, I still don't believe you didn't have children with that ex-husband. You are such a mother when you scold us like that." McCoy remarked.

"Please, this body?" I motioned to myself. "I wouldn't put all that hard work through a child." Jim and McCoy were staring at my body now. Sometimes they forgot I was a woman, it only ever dawned on them whenever I made reference to my body. I snapped my fingers. "Guys, face. Up here."

"Sorry." They both looked away, blushing slightly. I chuckled softly.

"I have to get back to work. I'll see you later Bones." I would be shadowing him again later.

"Uh, yeah." I stood up and left the room, not noticing that Bones kept his eyes on me as I left.

* * *

 **Author Notes: Welcome to my very first Bones fan fiction. Since my Spock one gets lots of criticism, I'm not longer continuing it. It's far too difficult to please the Trekkie fandom, so I do have to remind you that this is fan fiction. Nothing is canon, nothing is serious. If anyone says "Well, such a thing didn't happen." I will kindly remind you that in this, it does not matter at all. I welcome constructive criticism, but nit picking will be completely ignored. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

_You got me into something very sick and twisted._

 _An evil kind of game I didn't know existed._

 _You travelled over seas to terrorise me,_

 _And I don't understand, why can't you let me be?_

* * *

I walked into the MedBay. Bones was sat at his table doing some testing on a Tribble. "Hey, Bones." I said, standing behind him.

"Hi, Belle." He didn't look up. I smiled at the nickname only he called me. "Can you get me those syringes?" He asked as I walked past the trey he was referring too. I handed it to him absently.

"So what's the work today?" I asked, wanting to get down to business.

"Today's pretty quiet. I'm going to be working with this Tribble. You can either do some readings of medical journals or tidy the MedBay." He knew how much I despised both cleaning and reading.

"So my choices are torture and more torture?" I flopped into my chair.

"Don't be so dramatic, Belle. Your monitor is already loaded with the Journal I want you to focus on." McCoy looked at me then and winked. Silent amusement behind his eyes.

"You're horrible, you know that Bones?" I teased.

"Yes, but at least I'm already a Doctor." He chuckled. I proceeded to throw my pen at him. I missed and he watched it sail past his face and land in the bin. "How can anyone have such diabolical hand eye coordination, yet can be brilliant in surgery?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm a mystery!" I exclaimed and began reading the text on my screen.

* * *

I'd been reading about Andorian Shingles for about an hour when McCoy came back from his visit to the Bridge. "You've got a call." He said as he sat back in his chair.

"Oh, who from?" I asked.

"Sweetheart, I'm not your mail boy. I didn't ask, just go." He seemed tense.

"Alright." Was all I said as I left the med bay, I wasn't in the habit of answering my calls in public so I headed back to my personal quarters. Once I was assure I was alone, I answered my call. I wasn't paying attention until the face came onto my screen. I took me a moment but then I was filled with paralysing terror.

"Hello, beautiful." Came the voice that chilled me to the bones. "Have you missed me, my little bunny?" My blood was curdling.

"How did you find me?" Was all I asked as I stared into the dead eyes.

"No. Let's ask why you decided to abandon me?" He growled. "You just up and left. No note. No call. Nothing. I came home to find all of your stuff gone. WHY!" He yelled.

"Harry, we are divorced. You couldn't expect me to stay with you." I replied. His face pulled back from the screen and I saw that face I knew all too well, the face he had when he used to slam my face into the walls.

"I will get you when you come back. Do you hear me, Annabelle? I will break you in two, snap all you bones and then when I've done all that, I will put a few bullets in your brain. Just for good measure." He snapped and the call ended. I sat hyperventilating, tears falling without my notice, my limbs shaking. I felt cold and I'd never been more scared in my life. I attempted to stand but my knees buckled and I fell back into my chair. I sat for a couple of seconds before trying again. I kept my balance this time and headed back to Medical. I walked in slowly. I didn't hear McCoy the first time.

"What, sorry?" I asked him. His face swimming into my vision.

"I asked who it was, are you okay?" He was in front of me, hands on my upper arms. He was steering me into a chair.

"He found me." I whispered. I didn't think loud enough, but McCoy's face said otherwise. He was the only one who knew the trouble I'd had with my ex-Husband. He didn't know the full extent, just that he was abusive and I'd ran away.

"Are you sure?" McCoy asked.

"Of course. That was him on the call." I finally looked Bones in the eyes. He was worried about me, I couldn't help thinking how sweet that was. Of course he was worried, I knew he was only worried for his friend and nothing more, but a girl can hope.

"Annabelle, what did he say to you?" McCoy never used my full name, this made me look at him.

"That he was going to kill me. I'd always known that I would die because of him, but when I left I thought I was safe. Then he went looking for me at the office I used to work in and shot two women, both he'd mistaken for me. I've been waiting for the day he found me. I just didn't think it'd be so soon. I thought I'd have more time." I was getting slightly hysterical.

"Annabelle, calm down. We still have three months here. Everything will be okay. Your friends are not going to let him hurt you, but you need to tell Jim." Bones was staring me dead in the eyes now, he didn't break eye contact or blink while I considered everything he said.

"I should tell Jim? Yeah, I should tell Jim." I looked away, swallowing the ache in my throat that I knew was going to turn into sobbing. Bones hadn't taken his hands off my arms since we'd started this conversation. Then I felt him pulling me forwards and I hit something hard. It was his body. I realised that McCoy had pulled me into a hug. It was the most amazing hug I'd ever had in my life, I felt cared for in that hug. I felt safe. Here, it was easy to fool myself into thinking that everything would be okay. His hug made everything perfect.

* * *

 _I will travel the distance in your eyes,_

 _Interstellar light years from you._

 _Supernova: We'll fuse when we collide,_

 _Awaking in the light of all the stars aligned..._


	3. Chapter 3

_I try to make you see my side_

 _I always try to stay in line_

 _But your eyes see right through_

 _That's all they do..._

* * *

"So I have something we need to discuss." I said as I sat with Jim in his room.

"You and McCoy finally had sex?" He shot.

"No, idiot. Shut up. It's important." I willed him to be silent.

"Alright, what is it?" He asked, sitting back in his chair.

"Alright so you already know I was married and got divorced three years ago." I started,

"But what you didn't tell me is you really have two kids!" he blurted again.

"Jim! Please, shut the fuck up for a moment." I was getting annoyed with him.

"Okay, alright. Yes, I already know that you were married and divorced. I met him, remember." He shut his mouth.

"Well, what I didn't tell you is the reason why I'm divorced. He was abusive, Jim. He did a lot of bad things while we were together but the worst he did was slam my face into a wall, punch me in the stomach and push me down the stairs when he found out I was pregnant. All this in pursuit of forcing a miscarriage. He succeeded but he also put me in hospital. I had internal bleeding and there's probably a good chance I'll never have children now, but we aren't sure about that yet. That was when I decided to leave. Not only had he endangered my life, he had taken away the life of the child I was so happy to have and may have took away the chance for me to have any more children. So I filed for divorce. I didn't want anything from him but I was given what I was entitled to by law. I took it, left and joined Star Fleet. He didn't know where I was. Two years ago my brother called me, he said that Harry had walked into my old work place and shot and killed two women that resembled me. I was on this ship when that happened. Then I got a phone call two hours ago. It was Harry." I finally looked at Jim. His face said everything. He was horrified, angry and even looked a little guilty. For what I didn't know.

"Anna, you went through all that?" He leant forward in his chair, taking my hands in his.

"Yeah." was all I said.

"I've known you all this time, I even met him and I didn't know. Is that why you wouldn't come round for days on end sometimes?" He was gripping my hands now.

"Yeah, usually I could hide the bruises with make-up. Sometimes he'd hit me where I could conceal it. But a few times it was so bad I couldn't hide it and had to stay away from everyone. You know how old and played out the "I walked into a door." excuse is." I hung my head.

"Annabelle," his eyes softened. "Wait you said he called you two hours ago?" He added.

"Yeah. He's found me." I started to shake again. "Jim, he's going to kill me when I get back to Earth."

"There's no way he will get anywhere near you! I won't let that happen, Anna. You're my best friend, and sometimes my mother," He laughed. "I won't let any harm come to you." He pulled me into a hug. I loved Jim Kirk hugs. It was like hugging your favourite teddy bear, safe and warm. The hug of a best friend. "We have three months left on this expedition, we'll figure out a way to protect you before we get back. Even if it means moving in with someone."

"Thank you Jim." I whispered in his ear, afraid that if I spoke any louder my voice would break.

* * *

I sat in my room that night and sobbed to myself. I was so overwhelmed with the day's events that I couldn't control the flow of tears once my head hit my pillow. I was still sobbing on and off when there was a knock on my door. I climbed off the bed and went to the mirror, checking my face for tear tracks or smudged eyeliner. I was surprised to see that my makeup had stayed fairly intact, so I answered the door. I was surprised to see Bones and Jim. I motioned for them to come inside. "What's this about?" I asked, happy to have my best friends there.

"We figured you could use a drink." Said Jim, holding out a bottle of golden liquid. I couldn't tell by the look but I was pretty certain it was Whiskey.

"You figured correctly." I said as I searched for three glasses. Once I found some I placed them on my small coffee table and poured us all a drink. I gulped mine down in one and went back for another glass, this one I sipped slowly. When I looked up, Bones and Jim were laughing. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Jim said, "You deserve to let off steam." He was smiling behind his eyes.

"Yes." was all I said and drained that glass.

"Anna, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Jim asked me as I poured myself a third glass.

"Well, my ex-husband has made it his life's mission to murder me. So no, I don't think I will be okay, but while I'm on this mission, I'm good." I replied, taking a sip from my drink.

"I guess it's better than you wallowing in worry." Remarked Bones.

"You're damn right. Since I may only have three months left to live, I think it's time for me to make the most of you guys." I looked at them both.

"Anna, don't talk like that. We won't let anything happen to you." Jim was stern.

"He's right, Belle. Nothing is going to happen to you with us around. We'll keep you safe." McCoy added.

"Well, I can keep myself safe, but I get what you're trying to say." I smiled at them both and continued to drink.

* * *

I woke up four hours later, tucked into bed. I turned over and saw that both Jim and McCoy were asleep in my chairs. I smiled softly and got out of bed, I was still slightly dizzy from the alcohol so I had to steady myself for a moment. I headed to the closest chair, which was McCoy. "Bones." I said in his ear. He stirred a little. "Bones." I hissed a little louder. He groaned a little and opened one eye. "Wake up." I slapped his thigh.

"Alright, sweetheart. Alright." His voice was thick with sleep and his southern accent was far more pronounced than usual. It did things to me. He stretched in the chair. "Why did you wake me?" He asked when he'd come round a little more.

"Because you need to go back to your own rooms. The both of you. It's going to make me look really bad if the Chief Medical Officers and The Captain came out of my room in the morning." I placed my hands on my hips.

"Fair enough." was all I got in response, then he looked to his left to look at Kirk who'd head was lolling backwards and was snoring heavily. I had to suppress a laugh. "Captain of a Starship and he sleeps like a child." I heard McCoy mutter. A giggle escaped, Kirk snored louder.

"How women keep their hands off him, I'll never know." I shook my head. McCoy stood then and made for Kirk, I quickly grabbed his arm.

"Hold on." I said. He turned to look at me. I stood on my tiptoes and placed a small kiss on his mouth. "Thank you for today, Bones. I really needed it." He looked a little startled, then his features softened slightly.

"Anytime, Belle." He smiled at me before he returned to his usual brooding look. He head towards Kirk. "Jim. C'mon Jim." He said, pulling the younger male to his feet.

"Wasappening?" Said Jim as McCoy manoeuvred him towards the door. "Anna? Where am I?" He was looking around now. I started laughing as McCoy took him out of my room.

"Goodnight, Belle." I heard McCoy say as the door shut. I could still hear Jim asking what was going on as McCoy took him to his room. I laughed as I got undressed and climbed back into bed. Once I was settled in bed, I was daydreaming about McCoy's sleepy voice and the small kiss I'd given him when I started to drift off. My dreams were filled with him.

* * *

 _I don't want to sleep_

 _I don't want to dream_

 _'Cause my dreams don't comfort me_

 _The way you make e feel_

 _Waking up to you never felt so real..._


End file.
